Musicians
Dave Parker - vocals, saxophone
Tena Palmer - back vocals
Greg Simm - guitar
Brian Johnston - piano
Pete Johnston - bass, guitar
Andy Stewart - drums
Dan Boyd, Trina Norman, Dave Hunter - (conversation about hockey)

 
The History Lesson
The earliest documented evidence concerning the origins of ice hockey show that the first game of hockey was most likely played on Long Pond in Windsor, Nova Scotia in the early 1800’s.  “Hockey Was Invented By A Nova Scotian” tells the story of how Nova Scotians invented, developed and then shared their passion with the rest of Canada and the World.
The Songwriting
In composing "Hockey Was Invented By A Nova Scotian", I had a chance tell a story that is deserving of much wider recognition.  No one is 100% sure where and how it all began but I have a pretty good hunch (and certain artifacts show) that it was in my hometown of Windsor, Nova Scotia.
I wrote the majority of the song while driving back to Quebec City from Nova Scotia in May, 2011.  The day before leaving, I dropped in on an old friend Jim Ivey.  He filled me in on what was going on around Windsor and mentioned his involvement with the Hockey Heritage Society.  This was the spark I needed and the rest is history. 
“Hockey Was Invented By A Nova Scotian” is actually my second attempt at writing the ultimate hockey theme (ha!) The first attempt was "Hockey in Heaven" (recorded by Jig's Up!).  It tells the story about how up in heaven, there is a game of hockey that is going on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! 
The Recording Project
The other great aspect of this project was getting re-aquainted with some musician friends from Nova Scotia!  This project was realized through the wonders of our virtual world.  We were never together in the same room, or town for that matter.  This song was recorded in:  Falmouth, Windsor, Dartmouth, Quebec City, Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Toronto and Saskatoon.  All the musicians either live or have grown-up in Nova Scotia!  I should mention that everyone has donated their musical talents to this recording.  In return I have promised liquid refreshments…for the time being!
My original idea was to get Brian Johnston (my high school music teacher, good friend and golfing buddy) to play piano on the song.  Brian agreed and suggested his son Pete Johnston might be interested in playing bass.  Peter (who resides in Toronto) did a wonderful job with the bass tracks and added some guitar work.  Greg Simm co-bandmember of “Thud” (we were 13-years old at the time!) recorded a ripping guitar solo from somewhere in Saskatoon and added a rhythm track once back in Dartmouth.  Up until now, everything was done with GarageBand (a MacIntosh music recording program). 
The back vocals were done by Tena Palmer (famous Canadian jazz singer).  Tena and I went to university together.  She also sings on “The Blue Wall” by the Trio David Parker (my jazz project)  It was great to hear her “rock-out” on this tune!  Andy Stewart is not only a great drummer but he listens to a heck of a lot of music and was an excellent source for Paul and I throughout the recording and mixing.  He spent some of his formative years in Goshen, Nova Scotia so he qualified for the project.   Finally, Dan Boyd, Trina Norman and Dave Hunter of the Hockey Heritage Society in Windsor provided some animated discussion on the history of hockey that was used as a background towards the end of the song.  The lead vocal and saxophone parts were recorded in my basement here in Quebec City.
Paul Hinton (music and teaching companion) is the recording engineer.  He provided a wave of positive energy and answered a wave of questions that I threw his way during this project. 
Jim Ivey, an old friend who recently moved back to Windsor, recorded the “animated discussion” on his iPhone.
Photos
 Jim Ivey and Emilie Parker

Lyrics

Lyrics
 
No one knows for sure but I got a good notion
That hockey was invented by……. a Nova Scotian
 
Down in Windsor, Nova Scotia a long time ago
Around 1800, so the legend goes
Some students got together and said wouldn’t it be nice
To take the game of hurley and play it on ice
 
They put on their boots and strapped on their blades
Little did they know that history would be made
Picked up their sticks and the game was on
The first game of hockey was played on Long Pond
 
 (chorus)
Hockey is Canadian, we all agree
And if you could look back, I think you might see
Boys on Long Pond with blades on their boots
Ready to tell you about hockey and its roots!
 
No one knows for sure but I got a good notion
That hockey was invented by a proud Nova Scotian
 
Now we created the nets and the design of the stick
And a disc slid better on a frozen crick
What those early pucks were made of, you might not want to know
But you find them in the fields where the green grass grows
 
Now rules were made as they developed the game
Wintertime in Nova Scotia would never be the same
Thomas Haliburton wrote it all down
How hockey was invented in a Nova Scotian town
 
No one knows for sure but I got a good notion
That hockey was invented by a proud Nova Scotian
 
Nova Scotians like to share, I guess it’s our way
So after we invented it, we showed them how to play
Down in Boston, Kingston, even Montreal
Everyone was playing hockey and having a ball!
 
(chorus)
Now hockey is Canadian, we all agree
And if you take a look back, I think you might see
Boys on Long Pond with blades on their boots
Ready to tell you about hockey and its roots!
 
No one knows for sure but I got a good notion
That hockey was invented by… a Nova Scotian
No one knows for sure but I got a good notion
That hockey was invented by a proud Nova Scotian
No one knows for sure but I got a good notion
That hockey was invented by… a Nova Scotian
 
No one knows for sure but I got a good notion
Hockey was invented by a proud Nova Scotian,
No one knows for sure but I got a good notion
Hockey was invented by a proud Nova Scotian
No one knows for sure but I got a good notion
Hockey was invented by a proud Nova Scotian
.